Negative+Exponents

Negative Exponents An exponent is a simpler way to visualize longer chains of multiplication. As seen in this image: A negative exponent is a way to visualize a longer chain of division.

For instance, math x^{-3}= \frac{1}{x^3} = \frac{1}{x*x*x} math

Changing negative exponents to it's positive/fractional form makes it simpler to do math like:

math 1 + 0.5^{-2} = 1 + \frac{1}{0.5^2}=1+ \frac{1}{0.25} = 1 + 4 = 5 math

Also, the following property is true, math \frac{1}{x^{-n}} = x^n math

Knowing this property can also make problems like this a lot easier:

math \frac{1}{3^{-4}}=3^4=81 math